Israeli search-and-rescue soldiers began work in quake-stricken Colombia on Friday, joining local crews in the hunt for survivors and delivering humanitarian aid days after the powerful earthquake struck the country, footage showed.

The 7.4-magnitude quake struck western Colombia on Monday, killing at least 287 people and injuring nearly 4,000, while close to 400 remained missing as of Friday. Cali and Pereira, two of the hardest-hit cities, accounted for more than two-thirds of the deaths.

Rescue teams were still reporting possible signs of life beneath collapsed buildings on Friday, even after the critical 72-hour window for finding survivors had passed.

Israel’s 80-strong delegation, named Brit Re’im, or covenant of friends, consists of IDF soldiers and officers from the Home Front Command and officials from the Foreign and Defense Ministries. The team left Israel on Thursday night and arrived in Cali with search-and-rescue personnel and dogs.

The delegation joined local crews searching through rubble for survivors of the powerful August 10 earthquake. Rescue efforts continued even after the critical 72-hour window for finding people alive beneath the debris had passed.

“As you know, we have experience in Israel. Sometimes, unfortunately, our enemies launch missiles at densely populated civilian areas, leaving civilians under the rubble. And today we are taking that knowledge developed by Israel and making it available to Colombian citizens. Hopefully, we can contribute our small part here,” the IDF’s Spanish-language spokesman, Maj. (res.) Roni Kaplan, told reporters in Colombia, in footage published by AFP.

“The intention is to work here side by side, meaning we are coordinating here with the local teams to try to contribute. Hope in Judaism is not something that we have to wait for in the future, it is something that we have to work toward. And that is what we are doing, we are........

© The Times of Israel